While the island is 99.999999999% rock, there were two small patches of iceplant on the island, near the landing site on the island, and thus, furthest from the crater/caldera.
White Island Tour February 11th 2008 Today was to be my tour of the island that the Maori people call Whakaari (White Island to you and me), approximately 29 miles North into the Pacific Ocean from Whakatane. I went to bed the night before with a heavy cloud cover in Whakatane, thinking that once we got to the island the following morning (and the tour for the following morning was confirmed at 7pm the night before, taking weather in ... read more
Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Plenty » Whakatane The Polynesian Maori reached New Zealand in about A.D. 800. In 1840, their chieftains entered into a compact with Britain, the Treaty of Waitangi, in which they ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria while retaining territorial rights. In that same year... ... read more
Welcome to my travel blog. Thus far, I have shared a few of my recent trips, some highlights below :
1) Japan, Sep 2014. With the allure of a very foreign culture to me, non-English speaking, Hiroshima, Tokyo, Shinkansen (bullet trains), Tsukiji fish market, and Sumo wrestling, it was time for a two week break from life and traveled to Japan for the second half of September. Wow, what an amazing place, just loved every minute I spent there exploring.
2) On assignment in Berkeley, CA (Sep 2008 - Apr 2009). I explored the San Francisco Bay area in some detail during the weekends I was there ... full info